The Aftermath
by FreddysNightmare1984
Summary: Ben & Barbra both survived the zombie attack. having formed a bond while recovering from the ordeal, they must try and return to living normal lives. a few years later, Barbra is still traumatized and Ben is on his last nerve, having put his life on hold to care for Barbra. will the two be driven apart? or will their growing feelings for each other bring them closer? Ben/Barbra


**_UGH_, why can't the plot bunnies leave me the heck alone?! I've already started one story that I know I probably should have waited on, and now _THIS_ idea won't go away. grr. anywho, I'm a big fan of Night of the Living Dead (the original 1968 movie), and for some reason I've always really liked Ben and Barbra together. I have no idea why, but I think they both should have survived. and if they did, they would have totally been together (IMO). so I thought I'd do a little rewrite of what I believe should have happened at the end of the movie. enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NotLD or any of it's characters. I'm simply borrowing them for this story**

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The sound of the telephone ringing awoke Ben Jones from his peaceful sleep. he groaned, rolling onto his side and sitting up a bit, glancing at the bedside clock. 2:30 AM. there was only one person Ben knew who would call him that early. heaving a heavy sigh, he got out of bed and picked up the phone, pushing the Talk button and holding it up to his ear. "hello?" he said, not bothering with trying to hide the grogginess from his voice.

"Ben?" Barbra's terrified voice flowed through the phone.

"yeah Barb, I'm here. is everything all right?"

there was silence for a few seconds before Barbra swallowed nervously and continued. "I-I'm sorry Ben..."

"it was another nightmare, wasn't it?" Ben said knowingly.

Barbra sighed nervously. "y-yes, Ben"

"thought so" Ben thought to himself. Barbra often called him in the middle of the night, having awoken from a terrifying nightmare. she'd been doing it for the past two and a half years, ever since that horrible night happened that changed both their lives forever. Ben recalled the day they'd been rescued. when they'd been found in that farmhouse by the posse, they'd been taken to the same hospital to recover. Barbra didn't talk to anyone for days, and when she did talk, she would only talk to Ben. and ever since then, they had formed a friendship, a bond that only they could understand. and Ben was always there for Barbra, always there for her to talk to and console her if she needed it. she would often have horrific nightmares that woke her up in the middle of the night. and this was one of those nights.

"Ben, c-could you please come over?" Barbra pleaded, desperation in her voice.

"Barb..."

"please, Ben. I... I need you here... please"

Ben sighed, struggling to fight back a yawn. "I'll be right over"

"thank you" Barbra said quietly and then there was a small click when she hung up the phone. Ben sighed again, slowly getting up and going over to his closet. he quickly got a shirt and some pants on and went downstairs, grabbing his car keys and going outside. he yawned as he started up his car and headed down the road for Barbra's house, which was only about 15 minutes away from his. his head was swimming as he drove. sleep was out of the question on nights like this. he'd usually end up falling asleep on Barbra's couch after staying up with her until she fell asleep leaning against him. Ben hadn't really minded at first, but it was starting to get more and more difficult to tolerate. he was running himself into the ground, what with the lack of sleep and constantly having to calm Barbra down.

he sighed as he pulled up outside her house, his headlights shining on her front porch. the young blond was pacing back and forth, an old, tattered purple robe covering her small, frail frame. her long blond hair was messy and unkempt, and her head snapped up, her entire body tensing when she saw Ben's car. she seemed to relax slightly when she recognized the vehicle, practically leaping off the porch and running toward Ben. he got out of the car and just barely managed to get the door closed before Barbra was on him, her arms around his neck and her face buried in his shoulder. "Ben!" she gasped, shaking slightly.

Ben sighed, slipping his arms around her. "it's all right, Barb. I'm here now"

"oh Ben, I-I'm so sorry" Barbra stammered, swallowing as she clung to him. "I tried to calm down, I really did. but I just..." she swallowed again. "... I needed you here... I needed you with me..."

"shh, it's all right now, Barbra" Ben said gently, sighing as they stood there beside his car, hugging each other. they stood there for what seemed like an eternity, just holding each other. Ben felt a lump in his throat as he fought back another yawn. sometimes he would wonder bitterly if being friends with Barbra was really worth it. but then Ben would quickly realize that he would never really leave her, he wouldn't be able to bring himself to completely cut off contact with her. Weather he liked it or not, he knew deep down that they needed each other.

they always would.

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** WHOOT, I'm glad I'm finally getting this story out of my system. I hope you enjoyed it and I'm going to try and update it soon. please don't forget to review! :D**

**-FreddysNightmare1984**


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